A Tamil couple seeking asylum for themselves and their two infant daughters in Australia are being held at a detention centre in Melbourne after Border Force officers stormed their home and gave them ten minutes to pack their belongings and leave.
The family who lived in a rural town in Queensland were detained a day after their visas has expired.
The Tamil Refugee Council said that the family were misled over their visa status and expecting to have their visa renewed.
The Council also said the family were mistreated in the way they were transported, with the couple being separated and the children not allowed to sit with their mother.
The couple were also pressured to sign “voluntary” deportation documents and threatened with immediate deportation if they didn’t sign.
Friends in the family’s rural town of Biloela started an online petition urging the Australian home affairs minister to intervene and bring the family back to their Queensland home.
See more on sbs.com.au.
